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There's light at the end of the tunnel for injured Columbus Blue Jackets forward Nathan Horton.

And this time it looks like the light doesn't have a train attached to it.

Horton, who hasn't played for the Blue Jackets after signing a seven-year, $37.1-million deal as a free agent in the summer, told the Columbus Dispatch he expects to debut in early January.

“It’s not going to be much longer,” Horton said. “I see an ending point to this. Finally.”

Horton signed with Columbus before having shoulder surgery, which has forced him to miss the first half of the season. He's been cleared for contact in practice but is unlikely to play before the calendar flips next week.

“I don’t know when it’s going to happen,” coach Todd Richards said. “But I’ll tell you this: He’s prepared. He watches our games, even though he’s not playing. He has a pretty good idea of what we want to do. There’s a level of professionalism there.”

HERTL RULED OUT

Tomas Hertl’s knee injury will keep him from competing in February’s Sochi Olympics, according to a report from Czech outlet isport.cz.

The San Jose Sharks rookie will have surgery next week on his right knee and is expected to miss at least a month of action.

And that’s the best-case scenario.

“It’s too early,” sharks general manager Doug Wilson told reporters. “Ask me in a week or two or three. Right now the prognosis is a month, but we are prepared that it could be longer. How much longer? I don’t know.”

The rookie suffered the injury in a knee-on-knee collision last week with Los Angeles Kings captain Dustin Brown.

"There are a couple of different things we're looking at," Sharks Wilson told the San Jose Mercury shortly after the incident. "I think the MRI shows something, and probably going in at some point will probably reveal the rest."

A return date for Hertl is expected to be announced after the surgery takes place.

Hertl leads all NHL rookies this season in points (25) and goals (15).

JACKETS SIGN PROSPECT

The Columbus Blue Jackets picked up a Danish on the way out of the NHL's Christmas break.

The Jackets signed Danish prospect Oliver Bjorkstrand of the Portland Winterhawks to a three-year, entry-level contract Thursday. Bjorkstrand was a third-round pick of Columbus in the 2013 draft.

“Oliver Bjorkstrand is a talented player with a tremendous work ethic and we believe he has an extremely bright future,” Blue Jackets general manager Jarmo Kekalainen said on the team's website. “He is enjoying a breakout season in the WHL this year and is one of a group of young players in our organization that we are very excited about.”

Bjorkstrand, a 6-foot, 170-pound winger from Herning, Denmark, has 25 goals and 31 assists in 32 games with the Winterhawks this season.

BRIEFLY

New York Rangers defenceman Marc Staal will travel with the New York Rangers on their upcoming five-game road trip, according to New York Newsday. Staal hasn’t played since being hit by New Jersey Devils winger Reid Boucher on Dec. 7.